MAN OF MEN, MUSK
By Andy Weddington
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
During a recent amble along our community greenway listening to birds and looking for deer, a question recently posed me was humming in the background.
How would you describe Elon Musk?
I'd not previously thought about that question.
And once asked it wouldn't go away.
I've been conscious of it while reading, painting, tinkering on the banjo, working in the kitchen, relaxing (trying to) in the evenings, and just before falling asleep.
But walking has a way of focusing thought.
An answer came, unexpectedly.
Elon is ...
Hannibal. Amongst humanity's greatest generals. Hannibal led by being with his men. Reading about him decades ago when teaching 'The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare' at Ole Miss I remembered note that he would routinely grab a blanket and sleep aside his men and elephants. He was visible. Elon did that - was visible - to make Tesla successful. He established a desk on the factory floor and slept under it so shift changes could see him. The workers saw their leader. He did that for several years. Elon is on record saying had he not made the factory floor his home Tesla would have failed. Hannibal was a warrior. He won. Likewise, Musk.
Leonardo da Vinci. Amongst humanity's greatest minds. He thought, saw, and did things differently in arts and sciences. Sketchbooks filled with his ideas e.g., flying machines, bridges, etc., still marvel. I'd like to see Elon(ardo)'s sketchbooks. What has he yet to disclose? With certainty his doodles as fascinating as Leon(ardo)'s. For Musk, too, thinks, sees. and does differently.
Michelangelo. Amongst humanity's greatest artists. Beautiful lines - in graphite, paint, marble. And so follows the inventions - with automobiles to spaceships - of Musk. Beautiful lines - that roll and fly.
Albert Einstein. Amongst humanity's greatest scientists/physicists. So brilliant his surname today is a brand to label the brightest of the bright. Though sometimes the dunce earns the Einstein label. Anyway, Albert was intrigued by the stars, the heavens. Likewise, Musk. Who is shooting to harness more of our star's energy while aiming to plant humanity on other planets. Musk merits, flatteringly, the moniker Einstein ... plus.
President John F. Kennedy welcomed the world's greatest minds to the White House for a formal dinner. During opening remarks he quipped to the crowd there'd not been that much brain power in the banquet room since Thomas Jefferson dined alone.
President Trump could arguably make the same case for Elon Musk (a genius who soldiers on trampling the mediocre minds trying to stop him).
And though not born American, Musk is American - a patriot!
For now, an Hemingway-esque six-words short story answers the question ...
Elon - warrior, inventor, artist, scientist - Musk.
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